The Art of Color Proofing

What goes into producing a print or giclee? Or any reproduction of an original for that matter? It's actually a fairly in-depth process. Once an original painting is created and finished, it is electronically scanned and a digital file is captured. A series of 'proofs' are then generated until color accuracy is achieved. Color adjusting (including saturation levels of C,Y, M, and K) density of the highlights, shadows, mid tones and half tones and lots more, goes into creating a look-alike proof. Ultimately, the color quality and accuracy of the reproduction can only be as good as the color proof is. An artist will usually go through several rounds of "color proofing," making adjustments and changes until they feel it is close to a perfect match. At this point, an artist makes choices of the type and quantity of reproductions, which can include posters, prints, giclee canvases, giclee prints, mini-prints, notecards, something as large as a mural or any type of giftware. A quantity as small as one or five can be reproduced, or you can print thousands. You also choose the quality of material your image will be reproduced on - ultimately, these factors will affect the price and value of the item. I was recently in Minneapolis at VONGSOUVAN FINE ARTS, for a color proofing of these four new paintings that will be coming soon as reproductions. Vongsouvan, located in the historic Casket Arts Building in the middle of the NE Minneapolis Art District, specializes in capturing the color accurate digital file of an original on their Cruise Scanner, matching the true likeness of an original. This file allows the artist the capabilities to reproduce their original in any format. I will be off to the printer tomorrow proofing the press sheets before we actually print .... this is a tight turn around, as we are trying to get things in time for our exhibit at the MN State Fair.....I better run! Thanks for reading - Happy August!! Bonnie